Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms is back in court
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As Louisiana public schools remain in limbo over a new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms — caught between the state releasing guidelines for districts to comply with the mandate that took effect this year and opponents threatening to sue if any such posters are hung up — a three-judge panel heard arguments about the controversial legislation Thursday morning.
In the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the state is appealing an order issued last fall by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who declared the mandate unconstitutional and ordered state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision.
The state contends that deGravelles’ order only affects the five school districts that are defendants in a legal challenge. But it’s unclear whether or how the law would be enforced in the state’s 67 other districts while the appeal progresses. “I know this needs to be addressed sooner rather than later, and we will do our best to do so,” Judge Catharina Haynes said as arguments concluded Thursday. Haynes did not specify when a ruling would be issued.
The law, which applies to all public K-12 school and state-funded university classrooms, took effect Jan. 1. Days after the mandate went into effect, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill — the state's top lawyer — made clear that she expects school districts to comply.
Murrill issued guidance to schools on how to do so, including four samples of the Ten Commandments posters. In addition, each poster must be paired with the four-paragraph “context statement” describing how the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”.
